Comments on: Google chrome and why Microsoft should acquire/invest in Mozilla Firefox

By: Arjun

Arjun — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:17:11 +0000

Google chrome is already kicking IE’s ass. A lot of corporates are insisting (at least talking about chrome, being a non-beta product from Google)… Change is in the offing dude. I am telling you.

By: Vishal

Vishal — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:30:48 +0000

I use firefox and a wide range of its plugins, i also tested chrome. Chrome is a superb browser, a new concept..

I think there is no future for IE.

By: sameer guglani

sameer guglani — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 07:30:02 +0000

Chrome hung on me http://sameerg.wordpress.com/2008/09/04/reporting-live-google-chrome-crash/

By: Ashish

Ashish — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 04:29:54 +0000

yes dear – I wrote this.
What you see as ‘defending’ is also explaining. I clearly see that many of the commentors aren’t aware of
a. Online office opportunity
b. FF rev share deal with Google.

And to me, that’s a big piece that ppl are missing – the commercialization of open source.

Only time will tell who was right/wrong – but lets be open!
And guys, pls don’t take my ‘reply to each comment’ as way to defend myself (can alawys behave like TC and dont give a shit to replies) , but its my way of being answerable to each and every commentor @ pluGGd.in.

By: Zishaan

Zishaan — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 04:24:56 +0000

Ashish – was it really you who wrote this post? Very crude and totally not you. I think you messed up on this one … and you’ve had to come back and defend yourself almost after every comment.

I am on the same page as Abi and Mahesh T.

By: Ashish

Ashish — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:53:18 +0000

Dude – the numbers are true (wired too had the same numbers)
regd. Chrome on Windows – its a simple market dynamics – why do you expect google to release something for 5% of user base?
They run a business, not charity.

By: Ashish

Ashish — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:43:09 +0000

Lower margin and a lot wider tail – that’s how SaaS works right?

By: shivaas

shivaas — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:16:55 +0000

You can do a google search on the firefox address bar also ! Try it ! It default searches on google and gives u results.

By: Mahesh T

Mahesh T — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 21:51:48 +0000

@Ashish

Microsoft had a monopoly on Office suite largely because it used proprietary formats. This left very little scope for competition and MS minted money from the product everyone needed. But, thanks to AntiTrust cases and EU, We are in an era of open standards and formats. In this backdrop, i think, Office suite won’t be as profitable as they were.

Add the evolved Internet ecosystem to the mix and i have a feeling…Office suite of future will be an Ad supported consumer business and a very low margin enterprise businesses. In fact, way lower in the value chain than what Sridhar Vembu of Zoho points to at http://blogs.zoho.com/uncategorized/why-we-compete-with-google/

So..Is online office the next wave? I don’t think so

Would love to listen where the above theory breaks down or if I’m missing something big.

-Mahesh
Celebrating Life…

By: Raseel

Raseel — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:13:12 +0000

Firstly, @Brendan : I don’t believe you didn’t go ahead and flame Ashish for suggesting MS should acquire FF.
I don’t know where you got your number about IE and FF percentage shares, but some googling around tells me they are not correct.
Secondly, why would anyone want ANY open source project , especially a popular one, to be taken over by MS. Tomorrow , if Google comes out with its fables Google OS, you will want MS to buy out the complete Linux IP. Jeez !!! And if MS does really wanna go the open source way, why doesn’t it open the code for IE, instead of buying an open source browser ?

As pointed out correctly by a commentor, FF and IE are completely different browsers, following different standards, designs, etc. And I think the only reason the 25-whatever% people are still using IE is because of sheer ignorance.

Chrome still has a lot of flaws, security holes, design considerations ,etc. The sad thing is, Google which practically runs on Linux and other Open source softwares, released Chrome as an open source software in Windows. Irony ? Hypocrisy ?
However, since it has come out from the Google stables, it has earned atleast so much credibility that most users (myself included) will try it out.

By: Prashant

Prashant — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 18:57:46 +0000

As i am winding my day up so don’t want to get into “comment boxing” which is happening btw ashish and others but the final words are “MS acquiring Mozilla isn’t a sensible thought at all”…Atleast for the decision making guys at MS..
And an advise to ashish : Don’t mess up too much with your visitors.If arrington would start doing it,it will take weeks for him to answer/counter all his visitor’s point of view.He answers very selectively.Be that one…

By: media boy

media boy — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:57:46 +0000

i’m willing to try it out just to see if it works more efficiently than FireFox… if it’s faster than Firefox and isn’t IE, then i’ll use it

By: abhinav

abhinav — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:56:20 +0000

On a slightly different note, just one day in to using Chrome and I am loving it!

Especially like the password remember feature and the fact that i can now do Google search in the address bar.

By: Ashish

Ashish — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:05:38 +0000

@Sumanth –
What I meant was the threat is from both the browser market share perspective + the battle over office.
a. IE is still a browser meant for browsing.
b. FF is lot more faster and has community love (where IE lacks).
c. Most of the initial adopters (consumers and not business) to office suite is the tech community – MS has consumer community, but not the tech community.

Microsoft is like a tiger in sheep’s clothing (when it comes to defining the online office part) – they cant let go of their cash cow to an online product – It’s the same issue which Siebel had (and Salesforce just swept the market _- I hv worked wth Siebel and let me say that this is a classic challenge which even MS will face (its just too difficult to have two completely different offerings)

Whats your take on the entire Chrome threat?

By: Ashish

Ashish — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:00:41 +0000

@Mahesh – Google’s core business is advertising, but the next wave for them is online office – which is a direct threat to MS’ revenues (which mostly comes from selling office suite of products)

By: Mahesh T

Mahesh T — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:12:26 +0000

Here is a simpler perspective:
Google’s core business(Internet Ads) will benefit from users engaging more time on internet. So, Google would like to push the limits of what the current Browsers are capable and help more desktop applications run online. Launching its own browser(Chrome) is a very powerful way through which it can push FireFox and IE to innovate faster.

I think, the argument for Why MS should acquire FF is weak. Isn’t opening up IE, a better option?

-Mahesh
Celebrating Life…

PS: I have a huge bias for simplicity. I like simpler arguments instead of analyzing the complex details like What becomes of open source? Why Ben Goodger was dropped from the FF by Mozilla’s CTO.

By: Ashish

Ashish — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:11:46 +0000

Does that mean they cant invest in them?
Get out of the ‘wikipedia’ theoretical text man –
“Any profits made by the Mozilla Corporation will be invested back into the Mozilla project. ”
So a rev share deal is possible.

“The Foundation will also continue to govern the source code repository and control who is allowed to check in” –
So MS can invest and Mozilal still controls the product.

Isnt’ that the best thng to happen?
It’s always good to converse based on the context, and not theory.

By: Ashish

Ashish — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:09:13 +0000

@Abi:
Is there anything wrong with teh analysis? What exactly do you mean by “facts about acquisitions before going on harping that who should acquire who”?
Well, if MS cant acquire Mozilla (owing to the definition of the entity), they should invest in them.

By: Abi

Abi — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:37:02 +0000

what an irresponsible post ashish — pls don’t make such a fool of yourself that people have to come and correct you like this. Words like stupid and dumb don’t suit you. I will really urge you to become less sensational(ist) in your reporting. Please check your facts about acquisitions before going on harping that who should acquire who. You have one of the best tech blogs in India and I would love that to stay that way.

By: ArpitNext

ArpitNext — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:11:50 +0000

I totally agree with you ! MS should take on Mozilla .

By: Sumanth

Sumanth — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:09:54 +0000

Ashish,
Reg your statement espousing MS acquiring Mozilla – “Let both IE and FF exist – MS’s immediate threat is not just the browser market share, but the battle over office suite – and only FF can help them stay in the battle.”
Not sure how you made the jump from the browser to the Office suite…how can FF help MS in the “battle over the Office suite” as you put it?
Yes, controlling the browser/platform does give Google leverage in terms of improving their Google Apps offering but how does the reverse hold true in terms of MS ownership of FF giving it an edge in the Office productivity space? After all, they already own the dominant browser but that by itself has zero impact on the Office suite, right?
Do clarify….

By: Ashish

Ashish — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:22:15 +0000

@Brendan
I only mentioned what was reported in the media. I will update the post with your comments.

By: Ashish

Ashish — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:21:13 +0000

“Well then we should also look at Sun/MySQL deal today then, but then who is interested in them?” – Just because you aren’t, doesnt mean that the world is not. Shareholders/Analysts everybody else is interested n these deals (revenue figures).

“Mozilla is still there because of Google, and its a non-profitable funding, ”
It’s a rev share deal. There is nothing called ‘free lunch’.

“show me one such organization Microsoft has funded, other than charity, vested intrests can go to hell.”
That’s business. Why did Google fund FF then (if not for vested interest?)

As Sean said, lets discuss the fundamental strategy – issues like anti-trust etc are left to legal experts (and believe me, very easy to twist and turn).

Let me ask you
“As a hard core geek, will you build application for Google Chrome (its open source too) or Mozilla? “

By: Keith Dsouza

Keith Dsouza — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:14:27 +0000

Well the days of Oracle and Siebel are gone, how many of us mention them except in corporate circles where they have a market? Well then we should also look at Sun/MySQL deal today then, but then who is interested in them?

As far as I can say, MSFT and Moz are a complete mismatch, and forget about acquistion, these people are competing against each other.

Like Azhar said, in the US, it’s not as easy as you think to aquire a company, the EU and Anti-trust will come up against you and bloody fine you for such things.

And for funding, Mozilla is still there because of Google, and its a non-profitable funding, show me one such organization Microsoft has funded, other than charity, vested intrests can go to hell.

By: Sean

Sean — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:58:23 +0000

I guess the discussion is far more fundamental than qns related to what happens to anti-trust etc.

MS is damn screwed up and I agree that if not acquisition, then ivnesting into firefox can help them (say they do a bucket serve and get MS search box on 50% installs?)

Guess you hv a valid pt…but MS is too big an elephant to react to Chrome (atleast in the near term)

By: Brendan Eich

Brendan Eich — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:57:51 +0000

I removed Ben as module owner at his own request, since he was no longer able to spend time fulfilling the duties of module owner.

It’s stupid to suspect foul play here, especially since whatever anyone knew then about Chrome, the only relevant factor in module ownership decisions is whether the owner is responsive and satisfactory to peers and other committers.

It’s also dumb to think that back in 2006, anyone at Mozilla was worried about Chrome, since beyond its secret status, it was years from release.

Next time you want to impugn my management of Mozilla module ownership, have the guts to mail me directly.

/be

By: Shreyas

Shreyas — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:52:12 +0000

Ummm… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla_Corporation

From Wikipedia…

“The Mozilla Foundation will ultimately control the activities of the Mozilla Corporation and will retain its 100 percent ownership of the new subsidiary. Any profits made by the Mozilla Corporation will be invested back into the Mozilla project.

There will be no shareholders, no stock options will be issued and no dividends will be paid. The Mozilla Corporation will not be floating on the stock market and it will be impossible for any company to take over or buy a stake in the subsidiary. The Mozilla Foundation will continue to own the Mozilla trademarks and other intellectual property and will license them to the Mozilla Corporation. The Foundation will also continue to govern the source code repository and control who is allowed to check in.”

By: Ashish

Ashish — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:49:40 +0000

@Keith:
I am aware of the FF funding – but does that funding really matter? Any funding of this sort is a not an exclusive agreement.

FF competes with MS and isnt that the right reason for MS to buy it out? Look at siebel/oracle, YouTube/Google video story.